The Hogwarts Grapevine
by XxXRegretXxX
Summary: Harry hears a rumor through the grapevine. - One-shot. Runner-Up in The Timed Tiers Challenge.


Harry set the Quidditch book that he had been reading down on the nearby end table. Taking off his glasses, he rubbed his eyes wearily before replacing them again. He had been in the middle of a particularly interesting chapter over the hundreds of different fouls that could be committed within the game. He didn't want to stop reading, but his eyes were beginning to ache from exhaustion.

It was around 3:00 AM on December 21, and a cloak of silence had descended over the Burrow. Ron had gone to sleep a little over an hour ago, all the while muttering that Harry was becoming too much like Hermione with the amount of reading he had been doing lately. As he stretched his arms above his head, a mocking voice rang out across the living room.

"Well, well, well."

"Someone's up way past their bedtime," called another voice, identical to the first.

Harry swiveled in his seat, and saw the Weasley twins approaching. Their movements were in perfect synchronization as they crossed the room and sat on the nearby couch. They grinned excitedly at him, looking for all the world like a couple of children on Christmas morning.

Harry smiled weakly, a feeling apprehension settling in his stomach. When Fred and George were excited, it usually did not bode well for the people in their immediate vicinity. Sometimes their pranks got a little out of hand. Harry feared the day when _he_ would be their victim.

"What did you do?" Harry asked suspiciously.

They adopted an affronted expression. "What do you take us for, Harry? A couple of hooligans?" George said indignantly, but the smirk never slipped from his face.

Fred scoffed. "We aren't always up to no good, you know."

"In fact, we are here on a sort of … _goodwill mission_."

Harry arched a brow and aimed a dubious look towards them. "Oh, really? And what might that be?"

Fred grinned wickedly. "Well, you see, Harry, -"

"- we heard something quite fascinating through the Hogwarts grapevine."

"Something about a certain Boy-Who-Lived."

"We think you would be _very_ interested in hearing it."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I don't need to hear every little rumor about me. The last one I heard was completely ridiculous. Something about me having a passionate affair with Filch, I think." He shuddered as the images that accompanied that statement flitted through his head.

George looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah, I heard that one. I was hoping it wasn't true. You could do so much better."

Fred nodded his head in agreement. "I think Harry suffers from a low self-esteem. That's why he's shagging Filch. He doesn't think anyone better will want him."

"Harry, you're a great guy! Handsome, too, you lucky dog."

"I'm sure lots of girls would love to be Mrs. The-Boy-Who-Lived."

"I couldn't agree more, Fred."

Harry groaned. "I do _not_ have low self-esteem!"

Picking up his Quidditch book, he lobbed it across the room at them. Unfortunately, both having the reflexes of seasoned Quidditch players, they quickly ducked out of the way. The book slumped to the floor with a broken spine.

He sighed and moved to retrieve the wrecked book. Frowning, he surveyed the damage. A quick spell could easily repair it, he noted with relief. "This was an early Christmas present from Luna."

The twins shared a covert look. "Oh, was it now?"

He placed the book back on the table and sat down. "Yes. Now, what were you going to tell me?"

"Ah, yes. _That_."

"Well, you see, we heard –"

"- that a certain Ravenclaw girl –"

"- has a crush on you."

Harry was confused. "Who? And how do you even know this?"

George leaned forward, whispering conspiratorially. "Ah, ah, ah. We never reveal our sources."

"And shame on you for trying to make us!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Alright, then. Don't tell me. Which Ravenclaw? Is it Cho? Because that's sort of old news, in case you hadn't heard."

Fred chuckled. "Yes, we heard about _that_ too."

"You must be an awful snogger to make her cry like that, Harry!"

Harry frowned. "It wasn't _my_ fault! She was still upset over Cedric!"

The twins shared another doubtful look. "Sure, mate. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Harry snorted, mumbling under his breath, "I'm never going to _get_ any sleep at this rate."

"Don't you have any _other_ guesses?"

"_Any at all?_"

Harry's brow furrowed in concentration as he ran his fingers through his unruly hair. "… Not really."

George sighed and threw his hands up in exasperation. "Luna! Its Luna Lovegood!"

The corners of Harry's mouth dipped into a confused frown. "Luna? Likes me?" Then he snorted, and soon erupted into hysterics. "You must be out of your bloody mind!" he choked through his laughter.

"_Are not!_" came the joint reply. "She really does like you!"

Still laughing to himself at the foolishness of it all, he stood from his chair. Without saying another word, he turned and started for the staircase. As he trudged up the steps, his chuckles gradually subsided. Opening the door to the room he shared with Ron, he quietly tiptoed over to his bed. As he lay on his back, he watched the Quidditch players flit around inside the posters that adorned the walls.

The twins had seemed so earnest in the beginning, but now … She couldn't possibly like him. And he had never thought that way about _her_, of all people. Luna didn't have _feelings_ for him. Did she?

"Harry! Wake up!"

He groaned and rolled over in the bed, trying desperately to escape whoever was so insistent on him waking up. "Go away!" he slurred through his sleep. "Its too early to be alive!"

The person scoffed. "Its noon."

His eyes reluctantly opened to meet the amused face of his best friend. "Oh."

Ron rolled his eyes and said, "Mum's got lunch ready downstairs. Y'might wanna hurry up, if you want any. Fred and George seem to be pretty hungry today."

He heard the door close lightly, and then the squeak of the staircase as Ron went back downstairs. Harry stared up at the ceiling for another moment before he made his decision. Gracefully rolling off the bed, he strode over to his trunk. Pulling out a ripped piece of parchment and a quill, he hastily scribbled the message.

_Luna,_

_Do you want to hang out with me today? Maybe go to Diagon Alley or something? Write back._

Harry

He smiled softly to himself as he reread the letter. Tying it to Hedwig's leg, he sent the bird off. He watched as she flew into a cluster of trees and disappeared.

"Merlin, I hope the twins were right," he whispered as he headed downstairs before all the food was gone.


End file.
